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Cruise Reviews of the Week

Every week we'll choose member cruise reviews to feature and if we choose yours, we will send you some cool Cruise Critic logo stuff!

Every Thursday, we'll randomly select five cruise reviews to feature here! Plus, we'll send each member a Cruise Critic logo item. We hope they enjoy it!

Allure of the SeasAllure of the Seas by kjf325
We've been home now a week from our cruise aboard the worlds largest cruise ship. I do believe it will be difficult to return to the cheaper cruises after this experience! We had a great time. Our favorite (FAVORITE needs to be in caps) had to be spending time in the Jazz on 4 lounge listening to the remarkable talents of The Bruce Gordon Quartet. Bruce has a voice that is smooth and transports you back to the days when music WAS music. Very talented guy with a great personality and a good sense of humor. The musicians were all outstanding as well. It was great to spend night after night listening to such talented guys and I was amazed the rooms weren't packed out...given the average age of the Allure cruiser (51). If you missed this group shame on you. I travel a lot and believe me you usually pay big $ to hear this kind of quality. Continue reading... Allure of the Seas

Celebrity ReflectionBest of the Class by wjack
My partner and I have previously been on the Eclipse and Solstice, so this ship was very familiar. Although there is an additional level of cabins, the layout is actually better on the upper decks than on the other ships in this class. The ship is brand new and beautiful. Very nice artwork throughout. We didn't miss Quasars, which is now a conference center. Frankly, we never saw anyone use Quasars on the other ships anyway. The Sky Observation Lounge is smaller than on previous versions of the ship because of the addition of new suites, but it is still adequate and very nicely furnished. We stayed in cabin 1620 which is on the "bump out" section of the ship and has a huge balcony. Very nice. The cabins are, in my opinion, small and kind of cramped especially when the bed in near the door instead of the balcony. Nonetheless the cabins are nicely furnished and comfortable. The bathrooms are laid out excellently and quite large for a cruise ship. They have nice touches like fog free mirrors and nightlights. There is insufficient drawer space in the cabins although the closet is adequate. The bed is comfortable, but even with the "pillow menu" neither of us could find comfortable pillows. The room service attendant was excellent. We hardly saw her after the first day, but the cabin was always clean when we returned and there were always plenty of clean towels/glasses, etc. Continue reading... Best of the Class

Disney DreamDisney Dream Cruise Review by CruiseDad5188
My family and I just got back on a cruise on the Disney Dream to the Bahamas, and our feelings are, safe to say, mixed. On the cruise was myself and my wife, our 3 year old daughter, and my mother in law. The cruise was a 5-day, 4-night cruise with 2 ports: Nassau and Castaway Cay, Disney's own private island. My wife and I had both been on several cruises with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, but this was the first cruise for my mother in law and my daughter. I think that the best way to structure this review is to break it down in the categories of things we enjoyed and things we did not enjoy as much. The Good: First, Disney puts on a great show, and they did not fail to meet that standard on the cruise. The ship was gorgeous and was immaculately maintained; the staff was courteous and the characters were near flawless (more on this next); there were also free stage shows and first-run movies which were exceptional. All-in-all, it was well geared to children and families, and I believe it was the most successful part of the cruise. Continue reading... Disney Dream Cruise Review

Sapphire PrincessFeb 2-16 2013 Hawaii - Mixed Review by Cornpone Girl
We, my husband and I, who are empty nesters now, typically cruise in Feb for our anniversary. This was the first two week cruise we have taken, with all others being one week cruises. This was my second Princess cruise and my husband's first. Our other cruises have been on Royal Caribbean, with some great and others above average. Since I like to see details in reviews, this one is a bit long, but hopefully provides helpful information, with the caveat that it is from our perspective and based on our interests. Pre-cruise We booked this cruise in April 2012. We had always wanted to try a stateroom on the fantail, so decided to splurge and book a Vista Suite. We had some pre-cruise challenges, starting with unreliable information about the stateroom we booked. We were told that the suite we booked had an 'obstructed view', but, neither our travel organization nor the Princess agents provided accurate information on what that meant. Both assured us that it was just a beam that blocked a little of the view from one of the two sliding glass doors. Had they told us that the beam was actually 2-3 feet wide and significantly restricted the use of our balcony, we may have decided not to pay the premium for a suite. The next challenge happened in December before the cruise. Continue reading... Feb 2-16 2013 Hawaii - Mixed Review

Norwegian DawnFantastic Family Fun Cruise by ObjectsinMirror
A little background info: We are a family of 5. Husband, age 51 is an experienced traveler & cruiser. However, the Dawn was 2nd cruise for Kids, ages 16,12,10 and I, age 36. Our 1st cruise last year was on Disney. We originally chose this cruise for the ports, not the ship. For 9+ months after we booked the cruise I read the ship reviews on this site. I was nervous we had made a wrong choice, especially after so many negative reviews had been posted. We were pleasantly surprised both the ports and the Dawn were wonderful!! Embarkation: Easy. We drove to Tampa, parked at Premier parking & had free shuttle service to& from the Port. Quick thru check-in line, and onto ship. Stateroom: In one word, Awesome! We were in the new Family "penthouse" suites without balcony- category SJ. I was concerned I would miss having a balcony, but the views from our floor to ceiling windows were incredible. There was plenty of room for our family. It has a King Bed, Pull-out Queen sofabed, which our boys shared, and a murphy bed. There is a small dining table with 4 chairs, plus 2 living room style chairs & a table. The bathroom was awesome as well, with double vanity, tub and separate walk-in shower. That shower with the rain showerhead was great, my kids never complained about having to shower. Continue reading... Fantastic Family Fun Cruise

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